Well, old man winter has arrived in my corner of the world. That mean my slow cooker will get a permanent counter spot in the kitchen until spring. I always like to have something hot to eat on hand when it's cold out, and the slow cooker fits the bill nicely. Soups, stews, chilis, roasts, whatever. Just as long as there's always something hot and ready.

Here's my standard schedule.....make a slow cooker meal twice a week. One small meals worth, (three servings-ish) gets packaged, vacuum sealed, and frozen. The rest stays in the cooker on "keep warm" until it's gone. That's usually one or two days of grazing. That leaves me with a house full of satisfied ladies (wife and two daughters) and a quick meal in the freezer, that can be hot and ready in 15 minutes. I find holding back some keeps everyone from having to eat too much of the same thing all at once, and leaves them wanting more. So we get plenty of variety, and no one gets tired of any single recipe.

Who else loves their slow cooker? How often do you use it? What's some of your favorite slow cooker recipes?

(14-11-2012 11:02 AM)Stark Raving Wrote: Well, old man winter has arrived in my corner of the world. That mean my slow cooker will get a permanent counter spot in the kitchen until spring. I always like to have something hot to eat on hand when it's cold out, and the slow cooker fits the bill nicely. Soups, stews, chilis, roasts, whatever. Just as long as there's always something hot and ready.

Here's my standard schedule.....make a slow cooker meal twice a week. One small meals worth, (three servings-ish) gets packaged, vacuum sealed, and frozen. The rest stays in the cooker on "keep warm" until it's gone. That's usually one or two days of grazing. That leaves me with a house full of satisfied ladies (wife and two daughters) and a quick meal in the freezer, that can be hot and ready in 15 minutes. I find holding back some keeps everyone from having to eat too much of the same thing all at once, and leaves them wanting more. So we get plenty of variety, and no one gets tired of any single recipe.

Who else loves their slow cooker? How often do you use it? What's some of your favorite slow cooker recipes?

You make me want a slow cooker.

Skepticism is not a position; it is an approach to claims.
Science is not a subject, but a method.

(14-11-2012 11:02 AM)Stark Raving Wrote: Well, old man winter has arrived in my corner of the world. That mean my slow cooker will get a permanent counter spot in the kitchen until spring. I always like to have something hot to eat on hand when it's cold out, and the slow cooker fits the bill nicely. Soups, stews, chilis, roasts, whatever. Just as long as there's always something hot and ready.

Here's my standard schedule.....make a slow cooker meal twice a week. One small meals worth, (three servings-ish) gets packaged, vacuum sealed, and frozen. The rest stays in the cooker on "keep warm" until it's gone. That's usually one or two days of grazing. That leaves me with a house full of satisfied ladies (wife and two daughters) and a quick meal in the freezer, that can be hot and ready in 15 minutes. I find holding back some keeps everyone from having to eat too much of the same thing all at once, and leaves them wanting more. So we get plenty of variety, and no one gets tired of any single recipe.

Who else loves their slow cooker? How often do you use it? What's some of your favorite slow cooker recipes?

You make me want a slow cooker.

They actually don't cost a whole lot considering they really last a long time, plus I got some kick ass recipes if you decide to actually get one. I discovered that wheni first got my slow cooker (a whole lotta years ago now) I had to follow recipes to the T for the meals to turn out right. But the learning curve is fast, and in no time I was modifying recipes for the cooker, and making up my own. Once you get to know it, you'll use it all the time!

I tell ya man, you'll never make sloppy joes any other way once you've made Stark Raving Sloe Joes.

Tomorrow morning:
Drain and rinse peas. Add to slow cooker.
Add:
-6 cups water (if you have any leftover stock in the fridge feel free to use it as part of the water, but only a max of 3 cups)
-1 ham bone, the meatier the better. (if you don't have a ham bone, no worries. Just use a half slab of finely diced UNCOOKED bacon instead)
-1 large onion, chopped
-3 stalks celery, chopped
-2 large carrots, chopped
-1 clove garlic, minced
-1 bay leaf
-1/2 teaspoon pepper

Stir it all up, cook on low for about 6 hours (until veggies are tender)

An hour before eating, finely dice a small red pepper and soak in plain white integration in the fridge. Scoop out a forkful of onion (using a fork drains off excess vinegar) onto the soup as a garnish to add an awesome tang to it.

This comes out as a French Canadian style pea soup. If you like it to be thick and smooth, just use an immersion blender to purée until it is the desired consistency. (I never do this. I love the texture without pureeing the soup)

You can also substitute a turkey leg of a couple chicken legs for the ham/bacon. Not quite as flavorful, but I'm always looking for ways to use up every morsel of food in the house, and this one works pretty well.

Remove any bones and the bay leaf, dice up any turkey or ham, toss it back in, and voila!

(14-11-2012 11:30 AM)Stark Raving Wrote: Love to hear your pulled pork recipe. Up here in Canada pulled pork isn't nearly as popular as I'd like it to be!

Well I'm sure you have no problem finding a nice pork roast. That of course is the key ingredient. Good meat.

I like to cook mine with some rub that I either buy or make. For liquid I like to use a can of orange soda, but I've also used Dr. Pepper and Root Beer, and beer. They all give it a different flavor. I like the sweetness of the orange soda. The soda helps break down the meat, in addition to the flavor.

After it's all cooked and falling apart, I'll add BBQ sauce that I've made, or if I'm too lazy to cook up some sauce, I'll use store bought sauce.

Glop some of that bad boy meat onto a fresh roll or bun and you've got yourself the start of a feeding frenzy!

It was just a fucking apple man, we're sorry okay? Please stop the madness
~Izel

I always thought a croc-pot and a slow cooker was the same thing. Whatever it is that I have, everyone here in Hillbillyland calls it a crocpot, and mine will get it's fair share of use this winter too. I mostly use mine for stews, and roasts, but I also use mine for pulled-pork, and turtle soup.

Decent (doesn't have to be expensive) cut of beef. Whatever spices you like along with some onion. A couple cans of tomatoes. Let it cook all day. If you are around, part way through you can start breaking up the meat but it's not really necessary. Serve over rice or meat on the side and the tomatoey (of that's a word) gravy over all.

Yep, crockpot and slow cooker are the same. Crockpot is a brand name I think. Same shit, different pile.

DL, do you sear your stewing meat?

I discovered this method a few years ago, and now I use it with almost all my slow cooker recipes.

Basically you sear your meat (as we all know that locks in flavor and juices) in a little oil in a hot pan. Just enough to mostly brown the outside. A few second on each side is good. Then you put your liquids and spices into the pan and bring it to a boil. Keep stirring and scrape up all toes little brown bits up from the pan into the liquid. That's where all the tastiness is. Once it boils, scrape it into the cooker and carry on as usual.